Unitary Ball Rod Assembly for a Pop-Up Drain Assembly

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a ball rod assembly for a pop-up drain assembly that comprises a ball rod having a ball, a hollow stub adapter, a first gasket received on the rod on one side of the ball and a second gasket and a hollow nut received on the rod on the other side of the ball and engaged with the stub adapter to provide a single-piece, unitary ball rod assembly that can be installed in a pop-up drain assembly by engaging the stub adapter with a stub on a drain pipe with one end of the ball rod engaged with a drain stopper.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 63/282,968 filed Nov. 24, 2021, which isincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This present invention pertains to a pop-up drain assembly that attachesto a sink at a drain opening for draining water from the sink and moreparticularly to a ball rod assembly for the pop-up drain assembly.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 1 is a side elevation in cross-section of a prior art pop-up drainassembly for a bathroom sink. The pop-up drain assembly includes a drainpipe, a drain stopper in the drain pipe, a port in the drain pipesurrounded by a tubular stub, and a ball rod received in the stub andport, which is engaged with the drain stopper for opening and closingthe stopper. The prior art assembly required a person to assemble theball rod, a seal and a cap and then attach this assembly of componentsto the tubular stub while working beneath the sink. Assembling andinstalling these components has been cumbersome and time consuming asthere has been several components to hold and assemble and often one ofthe parts has been dropped or lost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a unitary ball rod assembly for a pop-updrain assembly. The unitary ball rod assembly comprises a stub adapterhaving the general shape of a hollow cylinder, outer and inner ends andan interior shoulder; a first gasket received in the stub adapterbetween the interior shoulder and the interior end; a ball rodcomprising a rod and a ball on the rod, wherein the ball rod is receivedin and passed through the stub adapter, and wherein the ball abuts thefirst gasket; an adapter cap having an open end and an opposingpartially closed end, wherein the partially closed end has a ball rodhole; and a second gasket received in the adapter cap, where the adaptercap is engaged with the stub adapter, where the second gasket abuts theball, and where the stub adapter, the ball rod, the first and secondgaskets and the adapter cap form a standalone unitary assembly. Thestandalone unitary assembly is preferably designed, sized and configuredfor engagement with a drain body and for opening and closing a drainstopper within the drain body. The outer end of the stub adapter ispreferably designed, sized and configured for engagement with a tubularstub that projects from a drain body. The inner end of the stub adapterpreferably has exterior threads, and the open end of the adapter cappreferably has interior threads for threadedly engaging with the stubadapter. The outer end of the stub adapter preferably has interiorthreads for engagement with a threaded tubular stub on a drain body.

The present invention also provides a pop-up drain assembly thatcomprises a drain body for connection to the sink or basis at the drainopening for providing a fluid flow pathway for draining water from thesink or basin through the drain opening, where the drain body has a ballrod port; a stopper received in the drain body for retaining water inthe sink or basin; and a unitary ball rod assembly received in the ballrod port and engaged with the stopper for moving the stopper betweenopen and closed positions. The unitary ball rod assembly preferablycomprises a rod; a ball received on the rod, thereby forming a ball rod;a hollow nut having an open end and an opposing closed end, where theclosed end has a ball rod hole; a first gasket having a first openingreceived in the hollow nut adjacent to the closed end; a hollowcylinder; a second gasket having a second opening received in the hollowcylinder, where the rod extends through the hollow cylinder, the firstand second openings and through the hollow nut, where the ball isbetween the first and second gaskets, and where the hollow nut isengaged with the hollow cylinder. The hollow nut preferably has interiorthreads, and the hollow cylinder preferably has the exterior threads,where the interior threads in the hollow nut are engaged with theexterior threads on the hollow cylinder. The hollow cylinder preferablyalso has interior threads, and the hollow cylinder is preferablydesigned, sized and configured to be threaded onto a stub on a drainbody.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the invention can be obtained when thedetailed description of exemplary embodiments set forth below isconsidered in conjunction with the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-section of a side elevation of a sink with a pop-updrain assembly, according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a unitary ball rod assembly, according tothe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation in cross-section of a stub adapter, accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation in cross-section of a gasket, according tothe present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevation in cross-section of an adapter cap, accordingto the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

A discussion of the prior art will be helpful in understanding thepresent invention. FIG. 1 is a side elevation in cross-section of aprior art pop-up drain assembly 10 in a sink or basin 12. The pop-updrain assembly 10 is received in the sink or basin 12, which is typicalfor a bathroom, restroom or lavatory. Sink 12 has a lower surface 12 athat drains into a drain opening 12 b. Sink 12 has an overflow port 12 cin a side wall 12 d. An outer wall 12 e and side wall 12 d define anoverflow conduit or channel 12 f, and side wall 12 d has an overflowdrain port 12 g for draining overflow fluid into a port in drainassembly 10. A faucet 14 is mounted on a top deck 12 h of sink 12 forsupplying water or other fluid to sink 12. Pop-up drain assembly 10comprises a drain flange 16 that fits down through drain opening 12 b insink 12. Drain flange 16 has a threaded tubular portion extendingessentially throughout its full length, and a flange 16 b extendsradially outwardly on a top end. Flange 16 b is shown in FIG. 1 asformed integral with the tubular body of drain flange 16, but FIG. 2 inthe present inventors' U.S. application Ser. No. 15/584,030 (Pub. No.2017/0314244 A1) shows a more typical arrangement in which the flangeportion is in threaded engagement with the tubular portion. FIG. 2 inthe present inventors' U.S. application Ser. No. 15/584,030 shows adrain pipe that comprises a drain flange and a separate drain tube,which is in a threaded engagement with the drain flange. A gasket orplumber's putty 18 provides a seal between the lower surface 12 a of thesink 12 and the flange 16 b of drain flange 16. A flexible gasket 20 anda washer 20 a are placed around a bottom portion of drain flange 16 andthen pressed tightly against a bottom surface of sink 12 with a threadednut 20 b. A drain body 22 is threaded onto a lower end of drain flange16. Drain body 22 has a wrench flange 22 a for receiving a wrench fortightening and loosening drain body 22 with respect to drain flange 16.Drain body 22 has a pivot rod port 22 b, and a threaded tubular stub 22c projects radially outwardly from drain body 22. A pivot rod seal 24 isreceived in stub 22 c.

A pivot rod or ball rod 26 has a stopper end 26 a and an outer end 26 b.A pivot ball 28 is sealingly received on pivot rod 26 closer to stopperend 26 a than outer end 26 b. Pivot or ball rod 26 is received in stub22 c such that stopper end 26 a is inside the drain body 22, and thestopper ball 28 rests against pivot rod seal 24. A ball rod cap 30 isthreaded onto stub 22 c sufficiently tightly to seal pivot ball 28against pivot rod seal 24, but loose enough to allow pivot ball 28 andpivot/ball rod 26 to pivot. An extension rod 32 having a plurality ofholes, which are not shown, is received on outer end 26 b of pivot/ballrod 26 and held in place by a clip 32 a. Extension rod 32 is bent so asto have two parallel portions 32 b and 32 c that are perpendicular tothe longitudinal axis of the extension rod 32, and each of the twoparallel portions has a hole through which a control rod 34 is received.Control rod 34 passes through a faucet port 14 a and a sink control rodport 12 h. Control rod 34 has a knob 34 a at an upper end, and controlrod 34 is fastened to extension rod 32 by a set screw 32 d.

A stopper 40 is received in drain flange 16 and drain body 22. Stopper40 has an elongate shaft 40 a running its length, which has alongitudinal axis through the center of stopper 40. A cap 40 b islocated on an upper end while the drain assembly 10 is installed andoperational, and a pivot/ball rod receiving member 40 c is located on anopposing lower end. The pivot rod receiving member 40 c defines anopening through which stopper end 26 a of pivot/ball rod 26 protrudesfor engaging and moving stopper 40, and pivot rod receiving member 40 cmay be referred to as open member 40 c. Four flanges or fins, referredto collectively as fins 40 d, extend longitudinally along shaft 40 a andproject radially, and fins 40 d lie in two perpendicular andintersecting planes. The fins provide structural support for the shaftand center the stopper in the drain pipe.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a unitary ball rod assembly 50, accordingto the present invention, which can be attached to the threaded tubularstub 22 c on the drain body 22 of FIG. 1 . The unitary ball rod assembly50 replaces the ball rod 26, the seal 24, the ball 28 and the ball rodcap 30. The prior art assembly in FIG. 1 required a person to assemblethe ball rod 26, the seal 24 and the ball rod cap 30 and then attachthis assembly of components to the stub 22 c while working beneath asink. The person may alternatively insert the seal 24 into the stub 22 cand then insert the ball rod into the stub 22 c and then thread the ballrod cap 30 to the stub 22 c. The end 26 a of the rod 26 also needed tobe placed inside an opening at the bottom of stopper 40 so that the rodcan be used to open and close the stopper, which often meant that aperson needed one arm to hold the stopper and another arm to insert therod 26 into the stub 22 c. This required one arm above the sink and onearm below the sink. In any case, there are several parts or componentsto hold and assemble and often one of the parts can be dropped or lost.

The unitary ball rod assembly 50 of the present invention comprises: aball rod 52, which comprises a rod 52 a and a ball 52 b received on andfixed to the rod 52 a; a stub adapter 54; a first gasket or seal 56 abetween the stub adapter 54 and the ball 52 b; a second gasket or seal56 b on the other side of the ball 52 b such that the ball 52 b isbetween the first gasket 56 a and the second gasket 56 b, and an adaptercap 58. The unitary ball rod assembly 50 can be and preferably isassembled at a factory and sold as a single unitary part. The prior artrequired assembly of the ball rod 26, the seal 24 and the ball rod cap30 at the time of installation. The unitary ball rod assembly 50 of thepresent invention does not require one to assemble parts duringinstallation of the ball rod 52. The ball rod 52, gaskets 56 a and 56 band the adapter cap 58 are assembled with and connected to the stubadapter 54 in a factory setting. The unitary ball rod assembly 50 is asingle part that an installer holds while putting an end of the ball rod52 in a prior art stopper in a prior art drain body 22, and then theinstaller merely threads the stub adapter 54 onto the drain body stub 22c. A seal needs to be made between the stub adapter 54 and the stub 22c, which can be done by putting a sealant such as a pipe thread tapesuch as Teflon® tape or a sealant that has the texture of a thick paste,pipe dope, on the threads that are on the stub 22 c. Alternatively or inaddition, one may want to place a gasket or a seal in the stub adapter54 to seal against the end of the stub 22 c.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the stub adapter 54 in cross-section. Stubadapter 54 has the general shape of a hollow cylinder and has a bore 54a throughout its length. Stub adapter 54 has an outer end 54 b andinterior threads 54 c at and proximal to an outer edge of the outer end54 b. Stub adapter 54 is designed, sized and configured for the interiorthreads 54 c to threadedly engage exterior threads on the threadedtubular stub 22 c on the drain body 22. Stub adapter 54 has an inner end54 d and exterior threads 54 e at and proximal to an outer edge of theinner end 54 d. The inner end 54 d has a first inside diameter at andproximal to the outer edge of the inner end 54 d and a smaller secondinside diameter spaced away from the outer edge of the inner end 54 d.There is an abrupt transition from the first inside diameter to thesecond inside diameter, thereby forming a shoulder 54 f at thetransition. Stub adapter 54 is designed, sized and configured for theexterior threads 54 e to threadedly receive the adapter cap 58. A cavity54 g is defined in the stub adapter 54 by an inside wall of the innerend 54 d and the shoulder 54 f. The cavity 54 g is designed, sized andconfigured to receive the first gasket 56 a. Shoulder 54 f has an innerface toward the inner end against which a flat face on the first gasketabuts. Shoulder 54 f has an outer face toward the outer end of the stubadapter 54, which together with the interior threads 54 c define anouter cavity that is suitable for receiving a third gasket that issuitable for sealing against an end of the threaded tubular stub 22 c onthe drain body. The third gasket is not shown in the drawings, but wouldbe like the gasket 56, except having another flat face rather than aconcave face. In one embodiment, the unitary ball rod assembly 50includes the third gasket. The outer end of the stub adapter preferablyhas a greater outside diameter than the inner end. The interior shoulder54 f has an inner face toward the inner end 54 d against which the firstgasket abuts, and the interior shoulder 54 f has an outer face towardthe outer end 54 b of the stub adapter 54. The stub adapter 54 has anouter length between the outer end 54 b and the interior shoulder 54 fand an inner length between the inner end 54 d and the interior shoulder54 f, and the outer length is preferably greater than the interiorlength.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation in cross-section of the gasket or seal 56.Gaskets or seals 56 a and 56 b are identical and interchangeable and areidentified herein as gasket or seal 56. Gasket 56 has the general shapeof a thick washer or a circular ring. Gasket 56 has a concave face 56 cfor contact with and for sealing against the ball 52 b and a flat face56 d. The ball 52 b needs to rotate or pivot within a pair of concavefaces 56 c of the gaskets 56, and the gaskets should provide a seal sothat water cannot leak from the unitary ball rod assembly 50. Gasket 56is preferably made of a plastic material that is somewhat rigid andslippery. Nylon may be a suitable material for making the gaskets 56.The concave face 56 c preferably has a spherical contour that matchesclosely with the spherical contour of the ball 52 b. Gasket 56 can bedescribed as a ring that has a concave face 56 c that matches with theball 52 b and an opposing flat face 56 d, where the flat face 56 d iseither received in and in contact with the stub adapter 54 or theadapter cap 58.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation in cross-section of the adapter cap 58.Adapter cap 58 has the shape of a hollow nut that has a side wall 58 a,an open end 58 b, an opposing closed end 58 c, where the closed end 58 cis not entirely closed. The closed end 58 c has a ball rod hole 58 d.Adapter cap 58 has a longitudinal bore throughout its length. Thepartially closed end 58 b provides an interior shoulder 58 e. Theinterior shoulder 58 e and an inside surface of the side wall 58 adefine a cavity 58 f. The inside surface of the side wall 58 a hasinterior threads 58 g between the open end 58 b and the interiorshoulder 58 e. Gasket 56 b is received in the cavity 58 f, and the flatface 56 d of the gasket 56 b is in contact with and abuts the interiorshoulder 58 e.

The unitary ball rod assembly 50 of the present invention can beassembled by placing gasket 56 a in the cavity 54 g of the stub adapter54 such that the flat face 56 d of the gasket 56 a abuts the shoulder 54f. The ball rod 52 is either available with the ball 52 b on the rod 52a, or the ball 52 b should be placed on and fixed and sealed to the rod52 a. The rod 52 a has a shorter section on one side of the ball 52 band a longer section on the other side of the ball 52 b. The shorter andlonger sections of the rod 52 a should have appropriate lengths to allowthe shorter section to engage the drain stopper and for the prior artcontrol rod 32 to engage with the longer section and for the drainstopper to be opened and closed. The shorter section of the ball rod 52is passed through the gasket 56 a and the bore 54 a of the stub adapter54 until the ball 52 b abuts the concave face 56 c of the gasket 56 a.The gasket 56 b is placed in the cavity 58 f of the adapter cap 58 suchthat the flat face 56 d of the gasket 56 b abuts the interior shoulder58 e of the adapter cap 58. The adapter cap 58 is then placed on thelonger section of the ball rod 52 such that the concave face 56 c of thegasket 56 b will abut the ball 52 b. The interior threads 58 g in theadapter cap 58 are brought into engagement with the exterior threads 54e on the stub adapter 54, and the adapter cap 58 is rotated with respectto the stub adapter 54 to thread the adapter cap onto the stub adapter54. The unitary ball rod assembly 50 should be designed, sized andconfigured such that the interior threads 54 c in the stub adapter 54can be threaded onto exterior threads on the prior art drain body stub22 c with the ball rod 52 engaged with and capable of opening andclosing the prior art drain stopper 40 without any leakage of water fromthe drain body 22.

The unitary ball rod assembly 50 is preferably designed and configuredfor a threaded engagement with a prior art pop-up drain assembly.However, the adapter cap 58 can have snap-fit dogs or arms or leversthat have a tooth that engages a hole or a slot in a tubular stub on adrain body that is different from the drain body 22 of FIG. 1 . Theunitary ball rod assembly 50 can be packaged and sold with a pop-updrain assembly that includes a drain body with a port for receiving aball rod, which allows a designer and/or a manufacturer a variety ofconnections means for connecting the stub adapter 54 to the drain body.One means of engaging the stub adapter with a drain body stub is aratchet-type of fit. Rather than spiral interior and exterior threads,separate and individual rings of interior and exterior angled teeth canbe used as a means for engagement. The unitary ball rod assembly 50would be pushed into engagement with the drain body rather than rotatedinto engagement with the drain body. The angled rings would be designedto allow one to push the he unitary ball rod assembly 50 into engagementwith the drain body stub without a great deal of force, but much moreforce would be required to pull the unitary ball rod assembly 50 out ofengagement with the drain body stub. This type of ratchet mechanism isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,040,822, issued to Lopez Nieto, which isincorporated by reference.

The present invention provides a unitary ball rod assembly for a pop-updrain assembly that comprises a stub adapter shaped as a hollow cylinderwith an interior shoulder; a first gasket received in the stub adapterbetween the interior shoulder and the interior end; a ball rod receivedin the stub adapter, and wherein the ball abuts the first gasket; anadapter cap; a second gasket in the adapter cap, where the adapter capis engaged with the stub adapter, where the ball is movably sealedbetween the first and second gaskets.

The present invention provides a ball rod assembly for a pop-up drainassembly that comprises a ball rod having a ball, a hollow stub adapterand a first gasket received on the rod on one side of the ball and asecond gasket and a hollow nut received on the rod on the other side ofthe ball and engaged with the stub adapter to provide a single-piece,unitary ball rod assembly that can be installed in a pop-up drainassembly by engaging the stub adapter with a stub on a drain pipe withone end of the ball rod engaged with a drain stopper.

Having described the invention above, various modifications of thetechniques, procedures, materials, and equipment will be apparent tothose skilled in the art. It is intended that all such variations withinthe scope and spirit of the invention be included within the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A ball rod assembly for a pop-up drain assemblycomprising: a stub adapter having the general shape of a hollowcylinder, outer and inner ends and an interior shoulder; a first gasketreceived in the stub adapter between the interior shoulder and theinterior end; a ball rod comprising a rod and a ball on the rod, whereinthe ball rod is received in and passed through the stub adapter, andwherein the ball abuts the first gasket; an adapter cap having an openend and an opposing partially closed end, wherein the partially closedend has a ball rod hole; and a second gasket received in the adaptercap, wherein the adapter cap is engaged with the stub adapter, whereinthe second gasket abuts the ball, and wherein the stub adapter, the ballrod, the first and second gaskets and the adapter cap form a standaloneunitary assembly.
 2. The ball rod assembly of claim 1, wherein thestandalone unitary assembly is designed, sized and configured forengagement with a drain body and for opening and closing a drain stopperwithin the drain body.
 3. The ball rod assembly of claim 2, wherein theouter end of the stub adapter is designed, sized and configured forengagement with a tubular stub that projects from a drain body.
 4. Theball rod assembly of claim 1, wherein the inner end of the stub adapterhas exterior threads, wherein the open end of the adapter cap hasinterior threads, and wherein the adapter cap is threadedly engaged withthe stub adapter.
 5. The ball rod assembly of claim 4, wherein the outerend of the stub adapter has interior threads for engagement with athreaded tubular stub on a drain body.
 6. The ball rod assembly of claim5, wherein the outer end of the stub adapter has a cavity suitable forreceiving a gasket that is suitable for sealing against an end of thethreaded tubular stub on the drain body.
 7. The ball rod assembly ofclaim 6, further comprising a third gasket received in the cavity in theouter end of the stub adapter.
 8. The ball rod assembly of claim 1,wherein the outer end of the stub adapter has a greater outside diameterthan the inner end.
 9. The ball rod assembly of claim 1, wherein theinterior shoulder has an inner face toward the inner end against whichthe first gasket abuts, wherein the interior shoulder has an outer facetoward the outer end of the stub adapter.
 10. The ball rod assembly ofclaim 8, wherein the stub adapter has an outer length between the outerend and the interior shoulder and an inner length between the inner endand the interior shoulder, and wherein the outer length is greater thanthe inner length.
 11. A ball rod assembly for a pop-up drain assemblycomprising: a rod; a ball received on the rod, thereby forming a ballrod; a hollow nut having an open end and an opposing closed end, whereinthe closed end has a ball rod hole; a first gasket having a firstopening received in the hollow nut adjacent to the closed end; a hollowcylinder; a second gasket having a second opening received in the hollowcylinder, wherein the rod extends through the hollow cylinder, the firstand second openings and through the hollow nut, wherein the ball isbetween the first and second gaskets, and wherein the hollow nut isengaged with the hollow cylinder.
 12. The ball rod assembly of claim 11,wherein the hollow nut has interior threads.
 13. The ball rod assemblyof claim 12, wherein the hollow cylinder has the exterior threads, andwherein the interior threads in the hollow nut are engaged with theexterior threads on the hollow cylinder.
 14. The ball rod assembly ofclaim 13, wherein the hollow cylinder has interior threads, and whereinthe hollow cylinder is designed, sized and configured to be threadedonto a stub on a drain body.
 15. The ball rod assembly of claim 14,wherein the ball rod is designed, sized and configured to engage astopper in the drain body for opening and closing the stopper.
 16. Theball rod assembly of any one of claim 11, wherein the rod has a firstend that protrudes from the hollow cylinder away from the hollow nut anda second end that protrudes from the hollow nut away from the hollowcylinder.
 17. The ball rod assembly of claim 11, wherein the first andsecond gaskets have concave faces, and wherein the concave faces are incontact with the ball.
 18. The ball rod assembly of claim 17, whereinthe first and second gaskets have flat faces, wherein the flat face ofthe first gasket is in contact with the closed end of the hollow nut.19. The ball rod assembly of claim 18, wherein the hollow cylinder hasan interior shoulder, and wherein the flat face of the second gasketabuts the interior shoulder.
 20. The ball rod assembly of claim 11,wherein the hollow nut, the ball rod, the first and second gaskets, andthe hollow cylinder form a single-piece unitary assembly, and whereinthe single-piece unitary assembly is not connected to or made integralwith a drain pipe that provides a flow path for draining water from asink.
 21. The ball rod assembly of claim 11, wherein the hollow nut, theball rod, the first and second gaskets, and the hollow cylinder form asingle-piece unitary ball rod assembly, and wherein the unitary ball rodassembly is designed, sized and configured for engagement with a pop-updrain assembly.
 22. A pop-up drain assembly for a sink or basin having adrain opening, comprising: a drain body for connection to the sink orbasin at the drain opening for providing a fluid flow pathway fordraining water from the sink or basin through the drain opening, whereinthe drain body has a ball rod port; a stopper received in the drain bodyfor retaining water in the sink or basin; and a unitary ball rodassembly according to claim 11 received in the ball rod port and engagedwith the stopper for moving the stopper between open and closedpositions.
 23. The pop-up drain assembly of claim 22, further comprisinga means for sealing the unitary ball rod assembly with the drain body.24. The pop-up drain assembly of claim 23, wherein the drain body has atubular stub that projects radially outwardly from drain body andsurrounds the ball rod port, wherein the tubular stub has exteriorthreads, and wherein the hollow cylinder has interior threads thatmatingly engage the exterior threads on the tubular stub.
 25. The pop-updrain assembly of claim 24, further comprising a third gasket in thehollow cylinder for sealing against the tubular stub.
 26. The pop-updrain assembly of claim 24, further comprising a sealant between theexterior threads on the tubular stub and the interior threads in thehollow cylinder.
 27. The pop-up drain assembly of claim 26, wherein thesealant is Teflon® tape.
 28. The pop-up drain assembly of claim 26,wherein the sealant is pipe dope.